Brazil: Petrobras Charters Two LNG Carriers Owned by Excelerate Energy

Petrobras has just chartered two vessels, Excalibur and Excelsior, to transport and storage Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Each vessel has a storing capacity of 138,000 m³, equivalent to 276,000 m³ liquefied natural gas (165.6 million m3 LNG after regasification). This volume is sufficient to meet the demand in various sectors, including industrial, commercial, residential and transport in the state of Ceará for a whole year.

The vessels owned by Excelerate Energy L.P., a North American based company that specializes in maritime LNG shipping and in regasification infrastructure. The contract between the two companies signed today (26 Sept) at Petrobras’ headquarters in Rio de Janeiro aims at bringing greater flexibility and reliability to LNG trading, diversifying the supply of natural gas and increasing energy security in Brazil.

This contract is in line with Petrobras’ strategy to be a major player in the international LNG market. The Company entered this market in 2009 with two regasification terminals, one in the Port of Pecém, in São Gonçalo do Amarante, state of Ceará, and another one in Baia de Guanabara, Rio de Janeiro. The Bahia Regasification Terminal in Baía de Todos os Santos, Salvador, is currently under construction.

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Source: Petrobras, September 28, 2012